Sounding-board support.



No. 654.360. Patented July '24, 1900.

E. SCHOPF.

SOUNDING- BOARD SUPPORT.

(Application filed Feb. 19, 1900.) (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL SCI-IOPF, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

SOUNDlNG-BOARD SUPPQRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,360, dated July 24, 1900) Application filed February 12, 1900. Serial No. 4,93 (No model.)

to as generally used rest around their rim on a frame wherewith they are firmly connected. By this firm connection of the sounding-board with a stationary frame the sounding board around about the edges up to a pretty considerable distance cannot vibrate and only the middle part of the sounding-board is able to make vibrations of an amplitude, necessary to obtain a perfect sound. This disadvantage is especially perceptible in the shorter treblestrings of an upright piano orhorizontal piano,

which lie near to that part of the soundingboard which is close to the supporting-frame. The sound of these strings is not reinforced by the vibrations of the sounding-board in comparison with that of the middle strings,

so that the difference between the beauty of the sound of the upper octave of a piano and the middle octaves is thus explicable. In order to do away with these disadvantages,

the absolutely stationary fixing of the rim of the sounding-board is avoided in the present construction, so that the whole soundingboard can freely vibrate.

Figure I of the annexed drawings is an under plan view of the sounding-board shown separate from its seat, the seat being omitted in order to make the drawing clearer. Fig.

II is a section on the line A B, Fig. I, showing also the seat.

The real sounding-board a, which can be made of usual sounding-board wood, receives its tension by the two bridges b and c.

To enable the sounding-board to vibrate to the border, the outermost border at of the sounding-board is provided with an edgingfillet 6, extending around its circumference and firmly connected on the one side with the sounding-board and on the other side with a wooden plank f, also extending around the circumference of the sounding-board. This wooden plank f is again provided along the edge opposite that by which it is attached to the sounding-board proper with a resting-fil let g, fastened on the support h, by which it is fastened in the instrument. The wooden plank f is made of hard wood, while for the sounding-board proper soft wood is used, as is well-known. The reason is the same as in .violins-that is, to enable the sound-waves to rebound on this part f, so that only the real sounding-board Ct comes into vibratory effect. In this manner the sounding-board is able to swing like a spring of similar crosssection-that is, the sounding board is able to swing also at its edges because direct fastening of the edges is avoided by the use of the intermediate support, consisting of the plank f.

I declare that what I claim is- The combination with a sounding-board a of a fillet 6 having one of its faces glued to the under face of the sounding-board at its edge, a hard-wood-plank frame f having the same shape exteriorly as the sounding-board glued at the outer edge of one of its faces to the under face of said fillet e and a fillet g glued to the under face of said plank frame f at the inner edge thereof.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

' EMIL SCI-IOPF. Witnesses:

WOLDEMAR I-IAUrr, HENRY HAsrEa. 

